Women’s golf team on par for successful season

Scott Johnson
August 25, 1997

Even though the Iowa State women’s golf team is coming off a sub-par season, Coach Julie Manning is prepared and excited for the upcoming fall season.

“Team expectations are high, but cautious,” Manning said. “In the past we’ve had teams that looked great on paper, but didn’t perform to the top of their ability. This team will be overlooked by other schools, so hopefully we can sneak up and surprise some people.”

During the 1990s, ISU has finished in the top five in 84 percent of the tournaments they have competed in. Manning is expecting to return to that success.

Manning is looking to her tri-captains — Cathy Matthews, Fiona Watson and Sarah Linneman — to carry much of the scoring load. The team’s only key loss was last year’s MVP Gwynn Shepherd to graduation.

“Gwynn was always solid,” Manning said. “It was a given that she was going to be the top golfer, but when she left, it forced the others to move up. It will bring the chemistry of the team together.”

“I think we will have a great team with the addition of some new freshmen. We should be able to do real well,” Matthews said.

Both Matthews and Watson are coming off injury-riddled seasons, and both are excited to compete.

“We are ready to get in there,” Matthews said. “We’ve got the experience and we’re ready to lead. It may be tough at first, but we are going to win some meets.”

Along with the tri-captains, returning letter winners Christina Young and Kay C. Elgert also should provide some leadership to the young team.

Three other players Manning expects to be contributing players are incoming freshmen Noel Jacobusse and Megan O’Dea, along with redshirt freshmen Cathy Ennis. Jacobusse was a state champion for Algona, and O’Dea is the No. 2-rated golfer coming out of the state of Nebraska.

“The four and five golfers should be solid and deep,” Watson said, “They should take a lot of pressure off us. It is great to be healthy again.

“We learned a lot last year gaining experience, but this year I think we will work just that much harder,” she said.

There have been changes in the golf coaching ranks that may benefit the women’s team.

Men’s head coach Dale Anderson retired after last season and has been replaced by Jamie Bermel, who led the Drake men’s team to nationals last year.

“Jamie has really motivated me in the short time he has been here,” Manning said. “It’s like having a fresh coat of paint. We’re all very anxious to get the season going.”

ISU is the only Big 12 team in the Midwest Region, so the team will not be able to look at its conference competition until later in the season.

After a season-opening tournament in Illinois, the team will travel to the Minnesota and Colorado Invitationals.

The team also will play in the Big 12 Fall Preview in Columbia, Mo., and finish the season with the Beacon Woods/USF Invitational in Bayonet Point, Fla.

Manning looks to perennial powers Indiana and Ohio State to lead the regional competition along with Texas, Oklahoma State and Nebraska as the conference headliners.

Manning’s main goal is to continue working so the team will peak at the end of the fall season in October and again in April for the Big 12 Championships.